Splitting machine



Oct. 26, 1948. c, JOHNSON 2,452,128

SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11, 1946 I I: I L I ii E 43 5: 2:

lnvenfar Patented Qct. 26, 1948 SPLITTING MACHINE Charles E. Johnson, Belmont, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 11, 1946, Serial No. 695,253

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to machines for operating upon work pieces and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting soles, insoles and the like (hereinafter referred to as soles) which are stacked as fast as they are operated upon.

In such machines, the soles are commonly automatically stacked in the rear of the machine and the operator, who normally stands in front of the machine, has to walk around the machine in order to remove the stacked soles. Various somewhat complicated and expensive mechanisms have been devised for stacking the operated-upon soles near the locality in which the operator normally stands, but so far as is known no such device has ever gone into Wide use.

According to one feature of the present invention there is a free and unobstructed space directly in front of the machine where the operator stands to feed work pieces to the operating mechanism and a receptacle directly in the rear of the mechanism in which the pieces already operated upon are stacked, the construction being such that the operator while maintaining his position in front of the machine may at any time reach over the operating mechanism and remove the stack of finished work pieces. With this construction a large amount of time is saved, particularly in machines which operate, as many of them do, upon 15,000 pairs of soles per day,because the operator is not obliged to leave his position in front of the machine and walk around the machine every time he has to remove a stack of soles.

This and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be set forth as embodied in an illustrate-d machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a splitting machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Figure 2 is a View looking down upon the receptacle in which the soles are stacked as soon as they have been operated upon; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the receptacle.

Figure 1 shows the upper part of a splitting machine which is used largely to remove a thin split or skiving from the grain side of a piece of leather, such as an insole. The operating mechanism comprises a knife 5, the upper surface of which makes an angle of about seven degrees with the horizontal plane. The insole blanks are fed rapidly to this knife over a hardened portion 2 (commonly a detachable block) at the left-hand end of a table 1 by a rubber-covered roll 9 which is held down by springs, one of which is shown at H, the roll being rotated at high speed from a countershaft [3 by means of a pulley 15 on said countershaft, a pulley l1 onthe shaft of theroll 9, and a belt l9 which passes around the pulleys. The machine as thus far described is or may be the same as the corresponding portion of the machine of U. S. Patent No. 2,175,193, reference to Which is made for further details of construction." It will be understood, however, that the sole or insole blanks are carried very rapidly through the machine. The machine is mounted on a fairly lowpedestal so that the uppermost part of the machine, the pulley H and roll 9 are somewhat below the shoulders of an average operator so that he can reach over the roll as he stands in the space in front (to the right) of the operating mechanism and feeds the blanks rapidly over the table 1 to the operating mechanism, the table being short enough so as not to interfere with such reaching. The fast moving soles, after they have been operated upon, are delivered in a stream at about the level and in the direction indicated by the arrow. In order to receiveand stack these soles there is provided a receptacle 2| having an open front and top and provided with guides between which the soles are stacked. This receptacle has rigid with each of its side walls two alined bands 23 which receive supporting rods, one of which is shown at 25, said rods being fastened at their right-hand ends to the frame of the machine. In order to hold the receptacle from sliding movement on the rods, there are provided on each rod two collars 21 which may be fastened in place by set screws. The two bands 23 on each side of the receptacle are located with the forward one lower down on the side of the receptacle than the rear one, so that the receptacle will be tilted, as shown in Fig. 1, the bottom at the lower end of the receptacle having two openings 29 to permit the dust to fall out. The receptacle (see Fig. 1) is so located that its rear wall is in the line of movement of the soles as they are delivered from the splitting mechanism so that the soles strike the rear wall of the receptacle, and fall only a short distance as they drop between the guides (presently to be described) of the stacking mechanism, These guides 36 are plates curved as shown in Fig. 2 and are hinged at their forward ends on pins 33 held by the sides of the receptacle. In order to render possible the adjustment of the rear ends of these guides 3! into various posimechanism of which the pivot connecting the:

free ends is at the knee or joint. In order. to. permit the bar 39 to be moved readily to ad'- justed position and to be. held;there, the" rear end of the bar 39 has a pin 45 projectingv into: a-

small slot extending lengthwise through the lower" end of an upwardly extending. hand lever. 4.1 pivoted at 49 to a bracket 5| which is rigid with the rear wall of the receptacle, the upper' end: of

the hand lever being above the level of the top of the rear. wall of the: receptacle. A- second bracket. 53,.near the topof the. rear wall of. the receptacle, isprovided. withacurved slot, at butterfiy nut 55. serving to hold thehand lever in adjusted angular position.

Intheoperatiorrof the machine the operator loosens. the; butterfly nut- 55, :adjusts the, guides 3|: to. proper positions for the particular soleswhich are to beoperatedupon, and then tightens.

thebutterfiy nut 55.. He then. stands in. front.

(iusttotheright). of. the. machine and feedsthe.

soles. very.- rapidly to the operating. mechanism.

Asv the stream of fast moving. soles which have; been operated upon move in the path indicated.

by the.arrow,.the leading soles,.one.after. another,

strike. the rear wall. of the. receptacle and. fall. hetweentheguidesfil to formiastack. The. op-- erator,. while. still. maintaining, his position. in front of. the machine. can at. any time reachnver the operating mechanism.- and. removethe. stack, Although the invention has been set forth. as. emhodiedin a, particular machine, it should be. understood that the inventionfis not. limited in.

the scope of its. application. to. the, particular machine, which. has been shown and. described.

Having, described. my invention, what-l". claim. as. new. and. desire to secure by Letters Patent.

oiithe Unitedstates i'sz.

1;. In a. machine. for operating upon. soles, in combination, operating mechanism, a receptacle for receiving. and stacking soles. as they are dis.-

charged from the operating mechanism said receptacle having a wall arranged to arrest the movement of the soles away from the operating mechanism, a bottom, opposed guides between which the soles are stacked upon falling toward said bottom, each guide being mounted for adjustment toward and away from the other, operator' controlled means. for adjusting said guides simultaneously, and a clamp for securing said means in adjusted position.

. 2. In a machine for operating upon soles, in combination, operating mechanism, a receptacle for receiving and stacking soles as they are discharged irom the operating mechanism, said receptacle having a. wall arranged to arrest the movement of the" soles away from the operating mechanism, a bottom, opposed guides between which the soles are stacked upon falling towardsaid bottom, each guide being mounted for adjustment toward and away from the other, meansfor simultaneously adjusting said guides comprising a toggleto which. each. guide is. connected, an: operator controlled. member connected to. said. toggleand a clamp. for securingv said member inadjusted,position.v

3. In a machine for operating upon soles, in combination, operating. mechanism, a receptacle for receiving andstacking. soles as they are discharged f-rom the. operating mechanism, said receptacle having, a wall arranged to arrest. the. movement. of. the soles away iromthe operating, mechanism. a b.ottom,. opposed. guides between which the sales are stackedupon falling. toward said. bottom, each guide. being mounted to swing, toward. and. away from. the. other,. a slide, connections between said. slide and guides. constructed and. arranged. to swing. saidv guides in opposite directionsin. responsev to movement of. said slide, an. operator controlled member for. operating said slide,v and meansfor securing said member inadjustedlposition.

CHARLES E. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES. CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hood Oct. 10, 1939 Number 

